Saturday Night High School Scores

BOYS BASKETBALL

Virginia  65, Aitkin  38
Willmar  71, Bemidji  68 (OT)

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Aitkin  60, Proctor  50
Crosby-Ironton  41, Esko  28
New London-Spicer  63,  Perham  40
Northland  64, Pillager  24

Missing Man Found Dead In The Mississippi

Brainerd Police found the body of 79 year old Richard Paquin, in the Mississippi River. Paquin went missing on February 15. According to police reports his body was transported to the Ramsey County Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy.  Paquin disappeared after he reportedly left the Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center on Wednesday. A family member was waiting to pick him up after an appointment and notified police when he didn't show up.

Friday Night High School Sports Scores

BOYS BASKETBALL

Detroit Lakes 78, Staples-Motley 66
Pequot Lakes 73, Crosby-Ironton 67
Winona Cotter 60, Stewartville 57

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bemidji 72, Duluth Denfeld 29
Pine River-Backus 71, Park Rapids 21

Sen. Carlson Predicts Few Const. Amendements

Following Governor Mark Dayton's State of the State address Wednesday night, Republican State Senator John Carlson of Bemidji echoed a willingness to work with the governor this session.

The session got off to a choppy start when the Republican controlled senate denied a couple of the Governor's key appointments.

A number of constitutional amendments are being proposed in the senate.  If passed, they would go directly to the November ballot and dodge a potential veto by the Governor.

Senator Carlson says most legislation should be statutory, and predicts few additional amendments will be approved by the legislature this year.

Nisswa Winter Jubilee this Weekend

The 40th annual Nisswa Winter Jubilee is underway through Sunday.

Chamber Executive Director Amanda Luepke tells KLKS News, they plan on having a lot of fun, even if there isn't much snow this year.  She says the city has been storing enough of the white stuff for the snow sculpture contest.

Events today include the treasure hunt, and Miss Nisswa pageant tonight. 

Saturday events include a broomball tournament, log splitting contest and parade.

The fun concludes Sunday with an ice fishing derby on Nisswa Lake.

Just About Time to Yank Fish Houses

Deadlines for removing fish houses, dark houses and portable shelters from state waterways are rapidly approaching, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Anglers are advised to remove shelters earlier if ice conditions warrant. Mild winter weather is causing ice conditions to deteriorate rapidly across much of Minnesota.

Shelters located south of Minnesota Highway 200 and U.S. Highway 2, including the Brainerd Lakes Area, must be removed no later than midnight, March 5.

Shelters located north of Minnesota Highway 200 and U.S. Highway 2 must be removed no later than midnight, March 19.

The DNR says if shelters are not removed, owners will be prosecuted and structures may be confiscated and removed, or destroyed by a conservation officer.

After removal dates, shelters may remain on the ice between midnight and one hour before sunrise only when occupied or attended. Storing or leaving shelters on a public access is prohibited.

Love on the Ice

(AP)  Some people just love the winter and the ice, love it enough to get married in the middle of Gull Lake Saturday.

Jennifer Truex says she and hubby-to-be Dan Petrie are "outdoorsy people."  The pair was four-wheeling in the woods last fall and waist deep in mud with Petrie popped the question.  Truex says she didn't hesitate to accept the proposal. 

Tomorrow's forecast calls sunshine and a high in the low 30's.  Guests are encouraged to wear their winter's finest, because the reception will be staged on the ice too.  For guest from Arizona and Texas, there will be a heated tent.

Think of it this way, there is no waiting list to reserve a popular chapel.

Thursday Night High School Scores

Boys Basketball:
Brainerd 68, Sauk Rapids-Rice 63
Crosby-Ironton 67, Upsala 61
Pillager 69, Bertha-Hewitt 55
Cass Lake-Bena 88, Blackduck 61
Lake of the Woods 79, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig 52
McGregor 60, East Central 51
Moose Lake-Willow River 61, Aitkin 55
Nashwauk-Keewatin 96, Northland 53
Red Lake 89, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 79
Staples-Motley 77, Verndale 54
Hill City 57, Wrenshall 56,
Girls Basketball:
Pequot Lakes 66, Grand Rapids 56
Crosby-Ironton 55, Pine River-Backus 49
Aitkin 69, East Central 24
Bagley 69, Park Rapids Area 14
Cass Lake-Bena 47, Blackduck 42
Isle 73, Onamia 27
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 67, Royalton 43
McGregor 70, Cromwell 67
Osakis 67, Browerville 36
Pierz 63, Maple Lake 57

Boys Hockey:
Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz 6, Sartell-St. Stephen 4
Park Rapids/Men/Nev/WHA 3, Detroit Lakes 1

2-Year Old Boy Is Critical After Hot Tub Accident

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) — A 2-year-old boy is in critical condition after being pulled from a hot tub at a northern Minnesota hotel.

Grand Rapids police were called to the Sawmill Inn about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a possible drowning. Officers were told a boy had been pulled from the hot tub and that CPR was in progress.

The boy was taken to a Grand Rapids hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Duluth.

Grand Rapids Police Chief Jim Denny tells the Duluth News Tribune the boy had wandered off from a birthday party that was near the hot tub. Denny says investigators found no evidence of negligence.

Sawmill Inn assistant general manager Joanne Riehle  says the hotel is saddened by what happened but has no comment.

Brainerd Police Search for Elderly Man

The Brainerd Police Department is asking the public's help in locating an elderly man last seen Wednesday. 

Police say 79-year-old Richard Ernest Paquin was last seen leaving Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd around 2:20 p.m.  He is described as a white male, 5-11, 210 pounds with short silver-gray hair.  He was wearing cargo style pants, brown boots, gray stocking cap and a gray hooded sweatshirt.

Paquin suffers from a medical condition that requires medication.

Anyone who sees him is asked to call Brainerd Police at 829-2805.

TV Station Airs Rodriguez Interrogation

(AP)  Twin Cities television station KSTP has aired the audio of a police interrogation of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.

The Crookston man has been sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin of Pequot Lales.

Rodriguez is in the final stages of the appeal process in his efforts to avoid the death penalty.

Local Ojibwe Agree on Federal Settlement

(AP)  A deal that would right a wrong that ocurred in the 1800's would benefit the Leech Lake and Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe.

Federal legislation is making headway in Washington that would release $28 million to six northern MN bands including the two local bands.

The settlement is for unscrupulous deals that drastically reduced the land controlled by the native Americans by 1900.  The money was orginally awarded in 1999, but has taken this long for the tribes to reach a deal on how to divide the funds.

Senator Al Franken and Congressmen Chip Cravaack and Collin Peterson have pushed to release the funds.

Man Sentenced For Assaulting A State Trooper

A Cass County judge sentenced the man convicted in the October assault of Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Darcy Gagon to 56 months behind bars and six years of probation. Elijah Lee Knowles, 26, of Akeley, Minn. was also ordered to pay $2,492 in restitution.


Knowles was found guilty of second, third and fourth degree assault, disarming a peace officer, DWI, fleeing police and obstructing the legal process. The trial had been moved from Hubbard County to Cass County.

On Saturday, October 22, 2011, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Trooper Gagnon stopped Knowles on State Hwy 34 just east of Park Rapids in Hubbard County. After performing field sobriety tests, including a preliminary breathe test, Trooper Gagnon attempted to place Knowles under arrest. As she attempted to handcuff the suspect, he resisted arrest and hit her several times on the head with the trooper’s Taser.

Knowles then put the Taser to Trooper Gagnon’s head and pulled the trigger, but the safety prevented the Taser from deploying. Knowles then attempted to take her sidearm, but was unable to access her gun. When Hubbard County deputies arrived on the scene, Knowles fled south on County Road 33 at speeds in excess of 110 mph. He was taken into custody after attempting to ram two squad cars and crashing his car near Hwy 46 and 200 Street in Hubbard County. Trooper Gagnon missed two weeks of duty as a result of her injuries, however she has since returned to full duty as she continues to recover.

Ice And Fog Cause Two Bus Crashes

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Fog and icy roads are blamed in two school bus crashes in central Minnesota.

No children were hurt in the Wednesday morning accidents in Holdingford and Pierz.

The first crash happened around 7:15 a.m. when a man hit a patch of ice and crashed into the back of a Holdingford school bus.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel tells the St. Cloud Times  the 15 children on the bus and the bus driver weren't hurt. The other driver was taken to a hospital.

Around 8 a.m., the State Patrol says a woman didn't see a stopped Pierz school bus because of fog and slid into the bus. She suffered minor injuries.
As many as 56 children were on the bus or waiting to be picked up. The bus driver and the children weren't hurt.

Baxter Man Faces Tax Violations

The Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office recently charged 44-year-old Brainerd business owner Ronald William Beattie, Jr. of Baxter, with 26 felony tax violations.

Beattie was charged with one count of failing to turn over state sales tax funds; one count of failing to pay withholding tax collected from his employees’ payroll, six counts of failing to submit individual income tax returns; six counts of failing to file sales tax, employee withholding, and corporate returns; six counts of failing to pay individual income tax; and six counts of failing to pay sales and withholding taxes.

The MN Department of Revenue says the business-related charges stem from Beattie’s operation of two Brainerd businesses—Risky Business Novelties & Videos, Inc., and Ultimate Limo Party Bus, Inc. The period covered by the charges is tax years 2005-2010.

According to the criminal complaint, Beattie never paid state sales tax or filed sales tax returns, though he continued to collect sales tax during that time. It also stated that Beattie owes more than $142,000 in Sales and Use Tax to the state. That doesn’t include penalties and interest.

The complaint said Beattie did not register his other venture—Ultimate Limo Party Bus—for tax purposes, and reported no wages and withholdings for 2009 and 2010 for Ultimate Limo Party Bus.

Each of the charges is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Tuesday Night High School Scores

Boys Basketball:
Pequot Lakes 65, Duluth Marshall 55
Pine River-Backus 77, Laporte 29
Aitkin 48, East Central 44
Bertha-Hewitt 64, Nevis 58
Browerville 65, St. John's Prep 59
Cass Lake-Bena 67, Red Lake County 51
Eagle Valley 75, Verndale 53
Little Falls 94, Mora 58
Ogilvie 61, McGregor 50
Swanville 64, Royalton 62

Girls Basketball:
Crosby-Ironton 57, Pequot Lakes 55
Pine River-Backus 61, Laporte 12
Brainerd 48, Rocori 32
Pierz 86, Pine City 40
Henning 68, Pillager 27
Clearbrook-Gonvick 69, Nevis 60
Sartell-St. Stephen 59, Little Falls 39
Sebeka 82, Verndale 49
Staples-Motley 65, Detroit Lakes 57
Wadena-Deer Creek 67, Browerville 40

Boys Hockey:
Prairie Centre Area 6, Northern Lakes 2
Morris Benson Area 9, Wadena-Deer Creek 5
Hermantown 2, Little Falls 0

Girls Hockey:
Alexandria 3, Pequot Lakes 2

Wrestling:
Pelican Rapids 42, Wadena-Deer Creek 29
Columbia Heights 42, Crosby-Ironton 34
Aitkin 56, Minneapolis Henry 18,

Howes Says Increased Cigarette Tax is a No Go

Two Republican lawmakers from Rochester are proposing to double the cigarette tax.  They say it runs contrary the party theme of no new taxes, but is needed to repay money owed MN school districts.

Fellow Republican, State Representative Larry Howes of Walker, tells KLKS News, the proposal will go up in smoke.  He says the fear is; the money could be used for something else, like funding a new Vikings stadium.

Representative Howes is sticking to his prediction that the only constitutional amendment that will be approved for the November ballot will be voter I.D.
Howes says he will not support an amendment which would require a super majority for the legislature to approve any tax increases.  He says the results in California should suggest, it is not a good idea.

Monday Night High School Scores

Boys Basketball:
Browerville 70, Menahga 53
Pillager 73, Barnum 71
Wadena-Deer Creek 66, Sebeka 57
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 63, Laporte 36

Girls Basketball:
Braham 66, Isle 55
Foley 67, Aitkin 50
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 50, Swanville 38
McGregor 70, Onamia 46
Northland 63, Park Rapids Area 51
Royalton 66, Browerville 36
Upsala 84, Eagle Valley 47

Sex Offender's Release Delayed

The Brainerd Police Department says the release of a Level 3 Predatory Offender in Brainerd has been delayed.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said 27-year-old Joshua Paul Rinde was to be released from the Crow Wing County Jail today.  Rinde had said he planned to reside on the 900 block of South 7th Street in Brainerd.

As a result of the delay, a community notification meeting will be scheduled for a later time.

Rinde has a history of sexual contact with female children between the ages of 11 and 15.  The offender was known, or briefly known to the victims.